The Racing Master Mk.6 chassis

The Racing Master shares many aspects with the F-102 (my Footwork FA-13) and the GroupC chassis (my Jaguar XJR-12)... apart two facts: the scale is different and it was released 7 years earlier. So better said, this Racing Master chassis inspired these two followers.

These photos show the evolution of the lower deck suspension system, and more specifically what influences the chassis flexibility (therefore the over or understeer response). The Racing Master leaves no choice about making it stiffer or softer: the chassis flex does it all by itself. GroupC and F-102chassis' are almost identical on this, but the center screw closest to the motor allows adjustment by tightening more or less to modify the chassis flex.

However, the technical solution introduced by the Racing Master chassis to setup the front drivetrain suspension is the same on followers chassis.

This chassis can definitely be considered as a laboratory that gave birth to two new RC categories a few years later while the 1/12th Pan-Car category was abandoned, at least by Tamiya. The scale is also an important aspect that differentiates these three chassis and this has heavy consequences on the chassis layout.

Weight is a very important consideration on this chassis class and Tamiya did everything they could to make it light. The two decks receiving the electronics are full of empty spaces, both to gain weight but also to give more chassis flex in order to make it stick to the track despite the low weight. All this has heavy consequences on available room for electronics and the components layout.

Apart from the few available room, the decks show many holes and this doesn't help since all electronic components need double-sided tape to fit the chassis. It's never easy to stick something on holes, and even more complicated when you want to leave a free access to the crystal and speed controller setup button. The best with this chassis is to have as little components as you can, or even to install an ESC-receiver combined element. Anyway, I managed to install a receiver leaving free access to the crystal and a TEU-101BK electronic speed controller which setup button is also reachable. The next step is to properly arrange cables.

The Toyota Tom's 84C bodyshell

As I mentioned above, it is in perfect state and I will not correct the reversed paints on the cockpit. The driver will receive a little refresh and the main focus will be on the rear wing. By chance, the model came with an unknown wing but it has correct dimensions: I just had to re-cut it to give it a shape as close to the original as I could.

I had a short moment of worry before I started to paint it: the bodyshell being old, the lexan starts to turn yellowish. I obviously couldn't paint the rear wing in a bright white and reproduce the old aspect given by years. Because I am a lucky man, this livery means the rear wing is to be painted in PS-12 silver: problem solved. For the Toyota logo, it comes from my Toyota Celica Gr.5 leftovers.

This is only a custom fit: the wing original holes are filled by plastic parts that came with it and which I painted. Shame they were not aligned with the original car handling system: whenever I find a better wing, I will replace this one.

Instead of drilling the wing as per the manual, I preferred to use reinforced adhesive to stick the wing to the wing stay bar in order not to make it even uglier. Concering the Toyota logo, it is not perfectly horizontal despite re-cuting the letters (this logo originally goes onto the windshield on my Toyota Celica Gr.5).

The fixation of this rear wing is quite specific since it serves as rear body mounts:

The rear body mounts also support the rear wing stay. Despite it seems easy to use, this system is not very reliable since the body can move a lot and the wing stay can be removed without effort. Unless I missed it, I think Tamiya never used this system on any other model. Nevertheless, I think the wing will stay while driving, but the slightest hit should make it free. On the other side, the slightest hit should be lethal for the bodyshell since the chassis offers no protection at all, especially at the front.

First run

It took place on a perfect track under a summer sun. I was not very confident in making this model run since I had no idea how it would handle and how the period foam tires would resist. Not to forget the bodyshell for which I had neither ideas or time to think about a front bumper. In comparison, the potentially flying rear wing was no more than a detail.

Past the first meters on the track, most of my worries simply vanished as this chassis is very easy to drive. To my great surprise, this model handles very much like my Jaguar XJR-12 which is its grandson. A very noticeable difference is the weight thus the reactivity of the Toyota Tom's 84C: but grip, cornering and chassis precision are very similar. The overall feeling is that the Tom's 84C is literally sticked to the track and nothing can disturb it once you threw it into a corner. I felt both happy and admiring such a perfection on a so old model.

Here are some action shots:

Related article

• 58092 Jaguar XJR-12 - GroupC